Ever driven through paint?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 13:39
Ever driven through paint? - matt79
Has anyone ever driven through paint that had been spilt in the road? Unfortunatley it seems I have And I now have nice light blue flecks over the bottom of my car. Does anyone know of a product out there or how I can remove these marks without damaging the cars paintwork?

matt79
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 13:50
Ever driven through paint? - Adam {P}
I'm sure someone knows of something specific like "Dulux Blue Fleck Paint on Car Remover" but what about getting a cloth and a screwdriver at a very shallow angle to try and gently scrape the paint off?

Don't try that until someone has confirmed it...confirmed if it's a good idea or confirmed that it's the most ridiculous thing they've ever heard.
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Adam
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 13:51
Ever driven through paint? - blue_haddock
I would have a go at removing either with a dab of thinners on a cloth or using a fine cutting compound such as farecla
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 16:10
Ever driven through paint? - oldgit
I'm loathe to say it but I was a paint analyst for my sins. What type of paint was it? How long has it been there? If the paint isn't to old and if it was a solvent-based one and one not based on an esoteric solvent then why not initially try copious quantities of White Spirit allowing it to soak into and soften the spots of paint. You could also put on plenty of something gentle such as Swarfega.
All this assumes that the paint hasn't been on for several days and hasn't air-cured too much though
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 16:17
Ever driven through paint? - Rishab C
If it's emulsion, I would leave it covered in baby lotion (the white stuff) - (not baby oil) this contains water, thickener and a myriad of harsh chemicals designed to partially digest the skin, and will work well on doing the same to water-based paints.
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 16:23
Ever driven through paint? - matt79
Thanks for your suggestions but will using white spirit or thinners harm the car paintwork?

matt79
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 16:32
Ever driven through paint? - spikeyhead {p}
Thinners is ok so long as you just dab some on a rag and wipe it over, rubbing it gently into the paint you don't want. Wash it off well once you're done and repolish the car.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 16:55
Ever driven through paint? - oldgit
Thanks for your suggestions but will using white spirit or thinners
harm the car paintwork?
matt79


Yes, Cellulose thinners might, will but are very volatile and so won't be around for too long. Conversely, White Spirit is essentially an aliphatic hydrocarbon and so shouldn't affect your paintwork but is much less volatile and so hangs around for a lot longer. Personally, would not touch my paintwork with thinners but it is up to you to try both in places where it may not matter, significantly.


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Sun 10 Apr 2005 18:28
Ever driven through paint? - Oz
Whatever solvent you use, take a cloth of a contrasting colour and check it after each tentative wipe to see what if anything is coming off.
Note that the topcoat on most production cars is a clear coat over a colour basecoat so you won't see it on the cloth if you're accidentally taking this off as well until you get to the basecoat, so keep to just the spots.
As already mentioned, white spirit is a only a weak solvent - very unlikely to harm the car's original finish, either clear or basecoat, but may nevertheless be strong enough to take the spots off.
You could also try a warm but strong detergent solution on the spots.
Oz (as was)
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Sun 10 Apr 2005 23:47
Ever driven through paint? - JohnM{P}
Apologies for going away from paint,but
- I drove through a large puddle of black treacle (!!) on Friday - it's taken a lot of hosing to remove it from the wheelarches, wheels, my drive, etc.
- many years ago, a colleague parked his car near a building site in London. When he returned, it was covered with splats of concrete. When he invited the site foreman to inspect his car, several large site workers indicated that that wouldn't be in his best interests... He late reported, at the end of the lease, that it took him half a day with Brillo pads to remove the spots. I shudder to think what it looked like (and what the leasing company had to say about it!).
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Mon 11 Apr 2005 07:11
Ever driven through paint? - bugged {P}
What about using autoglym's intensive tar remover?? I have no idea if it will work on paint or not but its probably what i'd try if I had the same problem.
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